Cherise Willeit (née Taylor, previously Stander; born 6 November 1989) is a South African professional road cyclist.[1] She has won a single African and four South African championship titles, in both the road race and the time trial, and later represented her nation at the 2008 Summer Olympics.[2] Willeit also raced for Belgium's Lotto–Belisol Ladies professional cycling team in 2011 and 2012.[3]
 Willeit at the 2012 UCI Road World Championships | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Cherise Willeit |
| Born | Cherise Taylor 6 November 1989 Pretoria, South Africa |
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) |
| Weight | 54 kg (119 lb) |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Sandton City Cycle Nation |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | Time trialist |
| Amateur teams | |
| 2008 | MTN |
| 2010 | Nashua Ladies Pro Cycling Team |
| 2015 | CSA Women's Development Team |
| 2020–2020 | Team Customized Cycling BioPlus |
| 2022 - | Sandton City Cycle Nation |
| Professional teams | |
| 2009 | MTN |
| 2010 | MTN |
| 2011–2012 | Lotto–Honda Team |
| Major wins | |
| |
Professional career edit
Born in Pretoria, Willeit qualified for the South African squad in the women's road race at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing by receiving one of the nation's two available berths from the UCI World Cup.[4] She successfully completed a grueling race with a fifty-ninth-place effort, finishing in 3:48:33, surpassing Cuba's Yumari González by a wide, three-minute gap.[5][6] That same year, Willeit earned the women's elite road race title in her first attempt at the South African National Road Race Championships.[7]
Willeit's success in the South African Championships landed her a spot on the MTN team for the 2009 season, followed by her official stint on the Lotto–Honda Team in 2011. That year, Willeit flourished, winning two time trial events at both the South African Championships, and at the UCI African Continental Championships in Asmara, Eritrea.[8]
Willeit also sought her bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, but the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) excluded her from the team. Moreover, Cycling South Africa decided to reject her appeal based on the board's scrutiny and decision in the due process and procedures for the national team's final selection.[9]
Personal life edit
Willeit married elite mountain biker and African under-23 champion Burry Stander in May 2012. Stander was killed during a collision with a taxi while training near his residence in Shelly Beach the following year.[10][11] She later married Benjamin Willeit and became a mother to a son.
Major results edit
- 2006
- 2nd
Road race, African Junior Road Championships - 6th Road race, UCI Juniors World Championships
- 2007
- UCI Juniors World Championships
- 2nd
Road race - 10th Time trial
- 2nd
- 2008
- 1st
Road race, National Road Championships - 7th Overall Tour of Chongming Island
- 1st Stage 4
- 2009
- 2nd Road race, African Road Championships
- 3rd Road race, National Road Championships
- 2010
- 1st Road race, National Road Championships
- 7th Overall Women's Tour of New Zealand
- 10th Road race, Commonwealth Games
- 2011
- African Road Championships
- 1st
Road race - 2nd Time trial
- 1st
- National Road Championships
- 1st Time trial
- 3rd Road race
- 1st
- 10th Ronde van Gelderland
- 2012
- 1st Time trial, National Road Championships
- 1st Stage 2 La Route de France
- 2014
- 2nd Road race, National Road Championships
- 2015
- KZN Autumn Series
- 1st PMB Road Classic
- 1st Hibiscus Cycle Classic
- 2nd Time trial, National Road Championships
References edit
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Cherise Taylor". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
- ^ "SA duo shine at Road Champs". News24. 31 March 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
- ^ "Taylor toughs it out". SASCOC. 4 April 2012. Archived from the original on 11 October 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
- ^ Morgan, Brad (8 August 2008). "Team SA set for Olympic assault". South Africa Info. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
- ^ "Women's Road Race". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
- ^ "Cooke weathers storm to take Olympic gold". Velo News. 10 August 2008. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
- ^ "Teenage Taylor Wins SA Road Champs". GSport. 13 May 2008. Archived from the original on 11 October 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
- ^ "Gold for Taylor at African Champs". SuperSport. 11 November 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
- ^ "Cherise Taylor's Olympic Appeal Rejected". Bicycling. 28 June 2012. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
- ^ "South Africa mourns death of Olympic cyclist Burry Stander". The South African. 7 January 2013. Archived from the original on 12 March 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
- ^ Pillay, Kamcilla (4 January 2013). "Cyclist's wife 'cradled him at scene'". Independent Online. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
External links edit
- Profile – Ultimate Sports Nutrition
- NBC Olympics Profile at the Wayback Machine (archived 4 January 2014)
- Cherise Willeit on Twitter
- Cherise Taylor at UCI
- Cherise Taylor at Cycling Archives
- Cherise Taylor at ProCyclingStats
- Cherise Taylor at Cycling Quotient
- Cherise Taylor at Olympedia
- Cherise Taylor at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)
- Cherise Taylor at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)
